Category: Thoughtful Tips

Have you ever wondered why kids enjoyed coloring? I use to think it was a great way to keep them quiet. As a parent, it works in many ways. Those moments of quiet time while coloring is priceless! Unless your child prefers to talk and ask thousands of questions while coloring. If so, then that’s okay too! But overall coloring displays creativity, and almost all children are proud of their coloring once they are done. It’s nice to post it on the refrigerator or somewhere in your office. It’s a nice piece of art, despite what the end results may look like.

Years ago when I worked on a child inpatient psychiatric unit, our patients love to color. It was a way to start the day after they ate breakfast or during goals group. Coloring was a way to keep them calm and refrain from distractions. Most of the times the task worked, and other times it was challenging but overall, the patient’s enjoyed coloring. It was a good coping skill and most importantly it broke the ice especially when a new patient was admitted to the unit.

Some patients took their time, staying in the lines and outlining prior to shading in the photo, others colored carelessly, overall it was therapeutic to them and to some, it was quite rewarding. Shy patients became expressive by telling stories and others talked about social events. I was amazed of how a simple task gave the opportunity for children to express themselves emotionally.

There were times when I’d join in and color with them, it was easier to ask questions and engage in conversation whenever I participated in the same activity. Often times it made me think about my childhood days. I colored all the time when I was by myself. I remember when I was a kid, my uncle and I coloring pages from my coloring book on my grandma’s living room floor. His picture was neat because he stayed in the lines. The white photo came to life with vibrant colors. He shaded the picture perfectly and it wasn’t long before I compared my picture to his. Our conversation was minimum he asked me about school and common things an adult would ask an elementary student. My uncle passed a few years later it’s amazing how that moment stays in my mind til this day. Continue reading “How Coloring Relieves Stress”

We get disturbed thinking about reoccurring bills and other priorities that require our financial attention. We go to work and for some of us, we are unsatisfied with our position, especially those working for companies with little to no growth. Many people want to resign from their jobs but do not have enough money in their savings to call it quits. When we are not happy at work we lack motivation and produce minimum performances that commonly results in stress. When stressed, we reduce involvement in social gatherings, become isolative, and lack productivity in things that give us joy. This is not conducive to our health spiritually, physically, and mentally. Therefore, it is important to know how to handle stress. THE ULTIMATE DREAM is to do what we love and even with that comes pressure. Talk with an entrepreneur or a person at the peak of their career, they will tell you that stress visited them quite a few times during their journey!

I wish I could trade in my work shoes and go back to playing in the backyard with my childhood friends. Oh, how I wish to be a kid again!

Each day we go to work, sit in meetings, listen to people rant about nothing, drive home and get ready to deal with the kids, spouse, pets, and anything else that drives us to want to walk back out the door. Let’s face it, by the time we get home from work we are exhausted, and the last thing we need to hear is a tiny voice telling us how hungry they are! All we want to do is sit on the sofa, watch a little bit of The Walking Dead, and catch up on other things that require us to do the least amount of thinking. We go into this phase every day will slowly make us want to murder someone or blow up like Rebecca did on the last episode “This is Us.”

We don’t want to lose ourselves and look in the mirror one day and say to ourselves, “geez what the heck happen to me?” Life can and will do that if we don’t tackle it day by day. It’s easy to not want to be motivated when we have a thousand and one things going through our minds every day. The good news is this…we can control what we think, we are the operator of our wonderful minds. So its time to get down to business! We can do it, we can get off the couch and tackle life when it tries to knock us off of our feet.

It’s typical for newlyweds to disappear off the face of the earth. Don’t be alarm we all do it. While we enjoy the new thrill of our lives, some of our relatives and friends find it strenuous to reach us. Others will respect your space and assume you will reach out to them once things get in order. There are a lot of challenges married couples encounter within the first year of marriage. They are learning how to work together and figure out what strategies works best for them. They are combining two different styles of upbringing all while creating a foundation together. Can you imagine how complicated that is? Soon enough they’ll come back around and friendships will continue to be built. In addition to the marriage journey, children are born and new chapters are created. Finding time for friends and family becomes another level of complication through this adventure we call life. Continue reading “4 Tips to Balance Marriage and Friendships”

Thanksgiving is a few days away and we all want to see our family and friends. This can become quite difficult when you are in a relationship. Your husband may want to spend time with his family, or your boyfriend prefers to stay home and cook dinner. Either way, our family is important and during the holidays it’s common to want to spend with them.

Where to spend the holidays is one of the leading arguments in a relationship. It’s an argument because you may not have discussed with your husband previously how you expect to spend the holidays. You might like your mama’s mac and cheese, while your husband destains dealing with your Uncle Pete’s corny jokes. It’s imperative to remain happy in our own home. There is no sense of arguing about where to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years for that matter. That is why it is MANDATORY to plan ahead and figure out what your household is doing for the holidays. Continue reading “Make Love Not War”